Translation and editing

I am at your service for your Dutch translation and editing needs:

• translations from English to Dutch in a wide range of domains;
• translations from Spanish, French or German to Dutch in a limited set of domains;
• post-editing of machine translations (MTPE);
• bilingual revision of translated documents;
• monolingual revision (proofreading);
• preparation of Word or PowerPoint files for translation, both on a linguistic and a typographical level;
• language, style and/or content editing;
• localisation;
• desktop publishing of translated Word and PowerPoint files.

What exactly are the differences between bilingual revision, post-editing, regular editing and proofreading?

When revising or post-editing, I closely compare source and target text to each other, taking both linguistic and stilistic aspects into account, as well as the message that the author is trying to convey. Revision applies to translations produced by a human professional, while post-editing is a thorough review of a translation produced by artificial intelligence, also known as a machine translation. While revision and post-editing have the same end goal – delivering a flawless target text – both jobs require a different skillset.

When proofreading or editing, I treat the source or target text as a standalone entity. It might concern an original text meant to be translated into twenty other languages or none at all, or it might be an additional quality control of a previously translated text. Proofreading is a purely linguistic check, while editing is a looser term that might also include style improvement or even a critical review of the content if I happen to be knowledgeable about the subject matter.

Domains

When I accept a job, I will naturally perform the required research and inform you of any uncertainties. If I don’t feel confident about the subject matter, I will inform you right away before accepting the job. Should I happen to overestimate myself after all, I will reach out to you as quickly as possible so that we can look for a solution together. To give you an idea of the domains I feel most confident about, I have listed them below:

• Healthcare and medical sector: patient information leaflets, informed consent forms, package inserts, veterinary brochures, websites …
  • Subdomains: medical research, veterinary medicine, psychology, daily healthcare
• Education: coursebooks, workbooks, teacher manuals, e-learnings, specific courses, trainings and programmes, various educational, didactic and pedagogic tools…
  • Subdomains: primary education, language education, adult classes, alternative education, private education, home schooling
• Software & IT: manuals, software strings, websites, customer support and marketing articles, FAQs …
  • Subdomains: educational software or platforms, translation software, medical software, software for daily use, interactive software for touristic attractions, video games
• Science: informative books, scientific publications, journal articles, websites, educational material …
  • Subdomains: biology, ecology, earth sciences, astronomy
• Entertainment*: board games, video games, manuals and rulebooks, marketing texts, specific literature, websites, blog posts …
  • Subdomains: educational games, role playing games (RPGs), cooperative games, strategy games, alternative universes, literature for children and young adults
• Tourism and hobbies*: travel brochures, museum guides, city guides, websites, blog posts, marketing content, magazine articles …
  • Subdomains: hiking and mountaineering, equitation, arts, history, historical architecture, gastronomy

* Also possible from other source languages: Spanish, French or German